Hair Styling Appliance With Moisture Application

ABSTRACT

A hair appliance in which the axis of air flow through the appliance is generally in a parallel first direction through one end of the appliance and the handle and then exits the hair appliance in a direction perpendicular to the first direction. The air flow through the handle is not heated. Thus, special heat resistance and/or heat shielding materials are not required in the handle. In this manner, the handle may be sized in a manner that ergonomically fits a user&#39;s hand. Further, moisture may be provided from the hair appliance. The moisture may be directed towards a user&#39;s hair by a negative pressure that results from the heated air flows proximate the moisture region. In one embodiment, the moisture generation unit may be an ultrasonic vibration unit using a piezoelectric vibrator. In one embodiment, the hair styling appliance may be a paddle dryer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No.62/808,100 filed Feb. 20, 2019; the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The techniques disclosed herein relate to heated hair stylingappliances, and more specifically, to hair styling appliances whichapply moisture during use.

BACKGROUND

A wide variety of hair styling appliances may be utilized to style hair,including but not limited to, hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons.As known in the art, such hair styling appliances may be provided in avariety of shapes and sizes. For example, hair dryers typically have ahandle, an air inlet, a fan, a heater over which air from the fan ispassed, and a nozzle through which heated air passes to provide heatedair flow to a user's hair. Typically, the nozzle is cylindrical in shapeand heated air exits through one end of the nozzle in one direction.Typically, the air flows in a generally a parallel path from the airinlet, through the fan, over the heater and out the nozzle.

Some hair dryers are configured as paddle hair dryers. For paddle hairdryers, the air flow typically flows generally parallel through the hairdrying from an air inlet, through the fan, and over the heater. However,typically as is known in the art, the paddle hair dryers have an airoutlet which is configured in a brush like manner and through which theair flow is directed out of the paddle hair dryer in a direction that isgenerally perpendicular to the air flow path from the air inlet, fan andheater path. Paddle hair dryers often are configured with a brush at theair outlet that may be used to brush through the user's hair while thehair dryer is being utilized for drying. Paddle hair dryers often areinconveniently sized such that it is awkward for a user to use the dryerdue to the large size of the handle.

For some hair styling appliances it is known to apply moisture to theuser's hair with the hair styling appliance so as to improve the stylingexperience of the user. The moisture may be merely water, or in othercases, specialized hair styling products. As is known in the art, thereare a wide variety of ways in which moisture applicant may beincorporated into the hair styling appliance. For example, hair stylingappliances which apply a stream of liquid are known. Further, hairstyling appliances which apply a vapor or mist are known. In some casesa vapor is provided by directing the liquid over a heating element. Inother cases, the liquid may be atomized to provide a fine mist/vapor(heated or cool). As used herein, “vapor” may include substances in agas phase, a fine mist of liquids, tiny particles of liquid, an aerosolthat includes a liquid, atomized liquids, etc. Thus generally, “vapor”is defined broadly to include a wide range of mechanisms in whichmoisture may be provided to a user's hair. In some embodiments, anultrasonic piezoelectric system is provided to atomize the liquid togenerate a fine mist or vapor of moisture that may be directed towards auser's hair to improve the styling effect.

It would be desirable to provide an improved hair styling appliance.

SUMMARY

The hair styling appliance disclosed herein advantageously includes ahair appliance in which the axis of air flow through the appliance isgenerally in a parallel first direction through one end of the applianceand the handle and then exits the hair appliance in a directionperpendicular to the first direction. Moreover, the air flow through thehandle is not heated. Thus, special heat resistance and/or heatshielding materials are not required in the handle. In this manner, thehandle may be sized in a manner that ergonomically fits a user's hand.Further, moisture may be provided from the hair appliance. The moisturemay be directed towards a user's hair by a negative pressure thatresults from the heated air flows proximate the moisture region. Themoisture generation unit may be removable or have components that areremovable for re-filling with moisture and/or replacement of components.In one embodiment, the moisture generation unit may be an ultrasonicvibration unit using a piezoelectric ultrasonic vibrator. Further, thefeatures may include separation of the heated air flow path(s) frommoisture containing region so as to provide improved moisture deliveryto the user's hair. In one embodiment, the hair styling appliance may bea paddle dryer. In this manner a hair styling appliance is providedthat, in one unit, may provide hair drying capability,straightening/brush capability, and moisture delivery capability.

According to one exemplary embodiment, a hair styling appliance isdisclosed. The hair styling appliance may comprises a first end region,a second end region, the second end region being at an opposite end ofthe hair styling appliance opposite of the first end region, and a fancontained in the first end region. The hair styling appliance furthercomprises a handle region between the first end region and the secondend region, the handle region sized to allow a user to hold the hairstyling appliance between the first end and the second end. The hairstyling appliance also includes an air conduit within the handle region,the air conduit forming a handle air flow path between the first endregion and the second end region so that air from the fan flows throughthe handle air flow path generally in a first direction. The hairstyling appliance further includes a heater in the second end region andan air outlet region, the air outlet region directing air out of thehair styling appliance in an air outlet direction, the air outletdirection being angled relative to the handle air flow path by greaterthan 45 degrees.

In another exemplary embodiment, a paddle dryer hair styling applianceis disclosed. The paddle dryer hair styling appliance may comprise anair inlet end a having an air inlet, an air outlet end, air outlet endbeing a paddle end of the paddle dryer hair appliance, and a fancontained in the air inlet end. The paddle dryer hair styling appliancefurther includes a handle between the air inlet end and the air outletend, the handling generally configured in a first axial direction, thehandle providing a grip region for a user to hold the hair stylingappliance. The paddle dryer hair styling appliance further includes ahandle air path within the handle, the handle air path forming an airflow path between the air inlet end and the air outlet end, the handleair path being in the first axial direction. The paddle dryer hairstyling appliance also includes one or more air outlets, the one or moreair outlets directing air out of the hair styling appliance in an airoutlet direction, the air outlet direction being angled relative to thefirst axial direction by greater than 45 degrees. The paddle dryer hairstyling appliance further comprises a heater located between the gripregion of the handle and the one or more air outlets so that air flowingin the air flow path is not heated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present inventions and advantagesthereof may be acquired by referring to the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumbers indicate like features. It is to be noted, however, that theaccompanying drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments of thedisclosed concepts and are therefore not to be considered limiting ofthe scope, for the disclosed concepts may admit to other equallyeffective embodiments.

FIGS. 1A-1D are exterior views illustrating an exemplary hair stylingappliance.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of a portion of the hair styling appliance ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment of a fan for use in the hair stylingappliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A illustrates a side cross-section of the hair styling applianceof FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4B-4D illustrate exemplary angles between the moisture directionand the air outlet direction of the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate top perspective views of interior of the secondend 104 of the hair styling appliance.

FIG. 6 illustrates air flow paths through the hair styling appliance.

FIG. 7A illustrates an expanded side cross-section view of the paddleend of the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7B illustrates the use of a removable moisture generation unit.

FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom view of the paddle end of the hair stylingappliance of FIG. 1.

While the embodiments of hair styling appliances and methods disclosedherein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms,specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawingsand will herein be described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are notintended to limit the disclosure to the particular form disclosed, buton the contrary, the disclosure is intended to cover all modifications,equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The hair styling appliance disclosed herein advantageously includes ahair appliance in which axis of air flow through the appliance isgenerally in a parallel first direction through one end of the applianceand the handle and then exits the hair appliance in a directionperpendicular to the first direction. Moreover, the air flow through thehandle is not heated. Thus, special heat resistance and/or heatshielding materials are not required in the handle. In this manner, thehandle may be sized in a manner that ergonomically fits a user's hand.Further, moisture may be provided from the hair appliance. The moisturemay be directed towards a user's hair by a negative pressure thatresults from the heated air flows proximate the moisture region. Themoisture generation unit may be removable or have components that areremovable for re-filling with moisture and/or replacement of components.In one embodiment, the moisture generation unit may be an ultrasonicvibration unit using a piezoelectric vibrator. Further, the features mayinclude separation of the heated air flow path(s) from moisturecontaining region so as to provide improved moisture delivery to theuser's hair. In one embodiment, the hair styling appliance may be apaddle dryer. In this manner a hair styling appliance is provided that,in one unit, may provide hair drying capability, straightening/brushcapability, and moisture delivery capability.

In general, the present disclosure provides an improved hair stylingappliance. FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate exterior views of an exemplary hairstyling appliance which may utilize the improvements described herein.It will be recognized that the particular hair styling applianceembodiment shown in FIGS. 1A-1C is merely illustrative and otherconfigurations may utilize the concepts described herein. As disclosedherein a number of different hair styling appliance features aredescribed and it will be recognized that each of such features may beutilized independent of the other features or in combination with someor all of the other features.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a hair styling appliance 100 is provided. The hairstyling appliance 100 is configured as a paddle hair dryer however itwill be recognized that the concepts utilized herein may be used withother hair styling appliances. The hair styling appliance 100 includes afirst end 102 and a second end 104. The first end 102 may have a fanhousing 105 within which a fan (not shown) is housed. The first end 102may further include an air inlet 110 and an electrical cord 115. Theelectrical cord 115 may be utilized to provide power to the hair stylingappliance 100. It will be recognized that the hair styling appliance 100may alternatively be a battery powered cordless appliance. A second end104 may also be provided at the opposing end opposite of the first end102. The second end 104 may have air outlets (not shown) to provide to auser's hair. The second end 104 may include an outlet housing 108. Theoutlet housing 108 may enclose a heater (not shown) and moisturegeneration unit (not shown) for generating moisture to be applied to auser's hair. The second end 104 may also include a brush 125 that hasbrush tines 130. In one embodiment, the brush tines 130 may have balltips at end of the brush tines. Fins 132 may also be provided betweenthe brush tines 130 as shown in the figures. The brush 125 may beintegral with the hair styling appliance 100 or may be a removableattachment so that a user may change the type of attachment (or removeall attachments) to achieve a desired hair styling effect. In theembodiment of FIG. 1, the second end 104 is configured as a paddle endof a paddle hair dryer. However, it will be recognized that a paddlehair dryer configuration is merely one embodiment of hair stylingappliance 100 and the concepts described herein may be applied to otherhair styling appliances as the preset disclosure is not limited tomerely the exemplary paddle hair dryer.

Located between the first end 102 and the second end 104 is a handle120. The handle 120 may be configured in a size and shape so that a usermay hold the handle 120 in the user's hand so as to support and move thehair styling appliance during the styling of the user's hair. Air mayflow in the hair styling appliance generally in an air inlet flowdirection 135 through the air inlet 110 of the first end 102, throughthe handle 120 and out the second end 104 in an air outlet flowdirection as indicated by first air outlet flow 140A and second airoutlet flow 140B.

The heater that is contained within the outlet housing 108 may beutilized to heat air that is provided out the air outlets. Any of a widevariety of heaters may be utilized as is known in the hair applianceart. For example, the heater may be formed of resistive wires, ceramics,tourmaline, etc. In addition, the hair styling appliance may include iongeneration to assist in drying the user's hair. Thus, it will berecognized that the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to aparticular heater. The heater may be used to directly apply heat and/orions to a user's hair, to heat air and then use the heated air may todry and stylize a user's hair or a combination of all methods.

As mentioned above, air flows from the first end 102 through the handle120 and out the second end 104. In this manner, the handle 120 which auser uses to hold the hair styling appliance 100 also acts as an airconduit through which air flows during operation. It is noted that theair which flows through the handle 120 has not yet been heated as theheater (in the outlet housing 108) is located downstream of the handle120. Thus, the air through the handle is not yet heated. Because ofthis, the handle does not require the use of special heat shieldingmaterials and/or configurations to protect the user's hand from heatthat may be provided from a heated air flow. In this manner, thegeneration of heat on the surfaces of the handle is avoided and thehandle design may be simplified. Thus, a handle, through which airflows, may be provided between in inlet end of the appliance and outletend of the appliance without risk of the handle overheating in a mannerthat is uncomfortable to the user's touch. Because extensive heatshielding and special materials are not required in the handle, thehandle may be sized to more easily fit the hand size of a typical user.Thus, a paddle dryer hair appliance is provided that may easily fit auser's hand by holding the appliance in a handle region between thefirst end and the second end. Further, in the embodiment shown, the fanunit may be included in the first end 102 and the heater(s) may beincluded in the second end 104 which helps balance the size and weightof the hair styling appliance 100 in an ergonomic manner. Further, byseparating the fan and the heater(s) between the two ends minimizes themaximum size of an end as the various components are split between theends. Thus, the largest end is smaller than if all the electriccomponents were in one end.

The hair styling appliance may also include a variety of controlswitches (on/off, air speed, heat level, moisture application, etc.) asis known in the art. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1A, control switches 150 maybe provided. FIG. 1B, illustrates a rear view of the hair stylingappliance 100. As shown in FIG. 1B, the air inlet 110 may be seen. Asshown in FIG. 1C, an underside view of the hair styling appliance 100 isillustrated. Specifically, FIG. 1C illustrates more detail as to theunderside of the second end 104 which forms the paddle end of the hairstyling appliance 100. FIG. 1C illustrates the brush tines 130 asarranged into a first set of brush tines 130A and a second set of brushtines 130B. Fins 132 may also be seen spaced amongst the brush tines. Asshown in FIG. 1C, the two sets of brush tines are arranged on opposingsides (left and right in the orientation of the figures) of the second104. As shown and described in more detail with other figures, heatedair may be directed out of each of the opposing sides around a firstoutlet region 155 corresponding to the locations of the first set ofbrush tines 130A and a second outlet region 160 corresponding to thesecond set of brush tines 130B. Between the first outlet region 155 andthe second outlet region 160 a moisture region 170 is provided. As isshown and described in more detail below, moisture region 170 is alocation in which moisture may be injected as a vapor, mist, etc. Thefirst air outlet flow 140A and the second air outlet flow 140B inrelation to the of the first set of brush tines 130A and the second setof brush tines 130B may be seen more clearly in FIG. 1D. As air exitsout of the first outlet region 155 and second outlet region 160 (out ofthe plane of the figure as shown in FIG. 1C and in the air flowdirection of the first air outlet flow 140A and the second air outletflow 140B as shown in FIG. 1D), negative pressure is created in themoisture region 170 by the air flow on the opposing sides of themoisture region 170. This negative pressure directs the moisture withinthe moisture region 170 out of the hair styling appliance in thedirection of the air flow for application of the moisture into a user'shair. Thus, a moisture flow 175 as shown in FIG. 1D of moisture providedin the moisture region 170 of FIG. 1C is provided.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the hair styling appliance 100 with atop portion removed for illustrative purposes so as to view interiorportions of the appliance. As shown in FIG. 2, a fan 205 is located atthe first end 102 of the hair styling appliance 100 within the fanhousing 105. Air is moved by the fan 205 from the air inlet 110 to thehandle air conduit 210. As shown in the figure, the handle 120 forms thewalls of the handle air conduit 210 in addition to providing a structurefor a user to hold the appliance. Air flows through the handle airconduct 210 in the air flow direction 220 as shown. A vane 215 may beprovided within the handle air conduit 210 to help direct air flowthrough the handle air conduit 210 and minimize swirling or turbulenceof the air. The straightening of the air flow may provide an increase inthe flow of air through the appliance, may aid in lessening noise of theappliance when in use and may further improve the distribution of airthrough different air paths (discussed in more detail below) through thesecond end 104.

As shown, the air flow through the fan and handle is generally parallelto the orientation of the fan, handle and main axis of the hair stylingappliance. The handle and the fan housing act as air path in thisparallel direction. As will be discussed in more detail below, the airmay flow out of the hair styling appliance 100 at the second end 104 ina direction (the direction of first air outlet flow 140A and second airoutlet flow 14B) that is perpendicular to the general direction of theair flow through the fan housing and handle.

As is known in the art, the fan 205 may be configured in a wide range ofmanners, all of which may be suitable for use in a hair stylingappliance. Thus, the concepts described herein are not limited to aparticular fan structure. One exemplary fan which may be utilized isshown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the fan 205 may be configured as atwo stage fan in which there are dual stages of fan blades. Morespecifically, the fan 205 may include a first set of fan blades 305 anda second set of fan blades 310. A motor 315 drives the fan blades. Thedual fan blades may be configured in a variety of manners. In oneembodiment, a single drive shift may be provided from the motor 315which drives the dual fan blades in unison. Thus, the first set of fanblades 305 and the second set of fan blades 310 may operate at the samerotational speeds. The use of stacked two staged fan blades as shownallows for an increased air flow through the fan unit by providing moreair pressure for air movement. In this manner, in a relatively smallspace increased air flow may be provided without the need for a higherspeed fan, larger fan, etc. In another embodiment, the benefits of thetwo stage fan arrangement may be obtained by a two stage fan in whichthe dual sets of fan blades move at different rotational speeds. Forexample, the fan blades may be geared differently of the drive shift ofthe motor or different drive shafts having different rotational speedsmay be provided.

FIG. 4A illustrates a side cross-section of the hair styling appliance100 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 4A, the first end 102, second end 104, and handle120 are shown. The handle air conduit 210 provides an air flow pathbetween the first end 102 and second end 104. Thus, air flows in the airinlet 110, through the handle air conduit 210 as indicated by air flowdirection 220 and eventually out the second end 104 in the direction ofthe first air outlet flow 140A and the second air outlet flow 140B. Theair flow through the second end is described in more detail below. Ascan be seen from the picture, the air inlet 110, fan 205, motor 315, andhandle air conduit 210 are generally arranged along one axially paralleldirection of a first axis direction while air outlet flows of the firstair outlet flow 140A and the second air outlet flow 140B are generallyperpendicular to that first axis direction. Between the air inlet 110and the fan 205 a muffler 405 may be optionally provided. The muffler405 may be comprised of sound baffling and/or sound absorption material.The muffler serves to decrease the noise emitted from the hair stylingappliance 100 during use of the appliance. injected The first end 102may further include a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) which can beelectrically connected to the various components of the hair stylingappliance such as the motor 315, control switches (on/off, air speed,heat level, moisture application, etc.), the moisture generation unit410 and heater(s). Thus, the PCBA may be electrically connected to thevarious user control switches to provide the appropriate control signalsand appropriate voltages levels to the various electronic components.Voltage conversion of the voltage levels provided through the electricalcord 115 may be provided through components that form part of the PCBAor components that are separate from the PCBA.

The second end 104 may include a moisture generation unit 410 as alsoshown in FIG. 4A. The moisture generation unit may be formed in a widevariety of manners so that moisture may be generated for application toa user's hair. The unit may be solely mechanical (for example amechanical sprayer), electro-mechanical, etc. In the exemplaryembodiment shown, the moisture generation unit 410 may be an atomizerthat uses ultrasonic vibration of a piezoelectric system to create afine mist of water or liquid hair styling product. The piezoelectricsystem includes a wick 415, a piezoelectric vibrator 420 and a liquidreservoir 425. The liquid reservoir 425 may be a refillable reservoir.It will be noted that in the embodiment shown, the axis of the wick 415and piezoelectric vibrator 420 is generally parallel to the first axisdirection and perpendicular to the air outlet flows (first air outletflow 140A and second air outlet flow 140B). The piezoelectric vibrator420 operates to generate a vapor/mist as is known in the art. Thevapor/mist is injected into the moisture region 170 which may be acavity formed in the second end 104 of the hair styling appliance 100 asshown in FIG. 4A. In the embodiment of FIG. 4A, the moisture will beemitted from the piezoelectric vibrator 420 in the general moisturedirection as indicated by moisture direction 450. As shown in FIG. 4B,the moisture direction 450 is generally perpendicularly to the first airoutlet flow 140A (and similarly to second air outlet flow 140B) asindicated by the 90 degree angle between the directions. However, themoisture generation unit 410 or parts of the moisture generation unitmay be angled differently to provide a different angle between themoisture direction 450 and the air outlet flows. For example, the wick415 and the piezoelectric vibrator 420 may be angled to provide adifferent relationship between moisture direction 450 and the air outletflows. As shown in FIG. 4C, the moisture generation unit (or componentswithin the unit) may be angled so that the moisture direction 450 isformed 60 degrees with respect to the first air outlet flow 140A. Inanother embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4D, the moisture generation unit(or components within the unit) may be angled so that the moisturedirection 450 is formed 30 degrees with respect to the air outlet flow140A. As discussed in more detail below, negative pressure in themoisture region 170 may be used to direct moisture out of the hairstyling appliance to a user's hair. The smaller angles shown in FIGS.4C-4D may assist the movement of the moisture in the direction of theuser's hair. In one embodiment, it may be desirable to have the anglebetween the moisture direction 450 and the air outlet flows be 75degrees or less. The angling of the moisture direction may furtherresult in less condensation formed on the sides of the moisture region170.

As mentioned above, the hair styling appliance 100 may have the heatedair outlet flow (comprised of the first air outlet flow 140A and thesecond air outlet flow 140B) that is separated within the hair stylingappliance moisture generation unit 410. More specifically, the moisturethat has been generated by the moisture generation unit 410 may be keptseparate within the hair styling appliance 100 from heated air flows. Inthis manner, fluid vapor/mist is separated from a path of air flowhaving heated air. Because of this separation, the moisture may bebetter applied to a user's hair as it is less exposed to the heated airwithin the appliance prior to application of the moisture to the hair.Specifically, as shown in 1D, the heated air flows (first air outletflow 140A and second air outlet flow 140B) will be subject to mixingoutside of the housing of the hair styling appliance 100 proximate theuser's hair. In this manner, moisture may more efficiently be applied tothe user's hair.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate top perspective views of interior of the secondend 104 of the hair styling appliance (a portion of outer housing of thehair styling appliance 100 be removed for illustrative purposes). Asshown in FIGS. 5A-5C, the second end 104 contain two heaters for heatingthe air provided as a portion of the air outlet flow 140. Morespecifically, the heating assembly may include a first heater coil 505and a second heater coil 510. Heater coils are well known in the art andmay include a wire that is wrapped around an insulator. For example, thewire may be a resistive wire comprised of a wide range of materialsknown for use in heater elements and the insulator may be a mica board.It will be recognized that a wide range of materials may be utilized asis known in the art. As shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, the first heater coil 505and second heater coil 510 may be wrapped around first mica boards 515.Second mica boards 520 may also be provided as shown so as to controlmovement of the heater coils. Placement of the heating assembly in thesecond end 104 of the hair styling appliance 100 provides multipleadvantages. As discussed above, such a placement allows for a morebalanced hair styling appliance and minimizes heating of the handleregion. Further, placement of the heating assembly at the second endprovides a more efficient delivery of heat to a user's hair withoutheating loss that would result if the heater assembly was locatedproximate the first end 102.

Air flow from the handle air conduit 210 may be split into multiple airflow paths as the air flow enters the second end 104. One air flow pathmay be directed toward the first heater coil 505 and one air flow pathmay be directed toward the second heater coil 510. Thus, as shown inFIGS. 5A-5C, a first heater air flow path 525 is provided from thehandle air conduit 210, past the first heater coil 505 and out firstheated air outlets 535. This flow of air may result in the first airoutlet flow 140A described above. Similarly, a second heater air flowpath 530 is provided from the handle air conduit 210, past the secondheater coil 510 and out second heated air outlets 540. Thus as shown,there are two opposing sets of air outlets at the second end 104. Thisflow of air may result in the second air outlet flow 140B describedabove. The air flow paths may further be seen with relation to FIG. 6.It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the usage of twoseparate heater coils and two air flow paths is merely optional andheated air may be provided from the hair styling appliance through theuse of only one heater coil and air flow path.

FIG. 6 shows air flow paths through the hair styling appliance 100. Asshown in FIG. 6, the separate air flow paths entering the second end 104may be seen. First heater air flow path 525 provides air that will bedirected over the first heater coil 505 as mentioned above. Secondheater air flow path 530 provides air that will be directed over thesecond heater coil 510 as mentioned above. In the example shown, theoutlet housing 108 helps define the air flow paths through the secondend 104 of the hair styling appliance 100. It will be noted that thefirst heater air flow path 525 may be configured to be completelyseparate from the second heater air flow path 530 or the first heaterair flow path 525 and the second heater air flow path 530 may be formedin the second end 104 in a manner in which the air flow paths comingle.Thus, the housing and walls of the second end 104 may be constructed ina manner to keep each heated air flow path separate or may be configuredsuch that air between the paths may comingle. In one embodiment, across-flow chamber may exist within the housing of the second end 104 toallow for more uniform air flow and mixture and to prevent overheatingon one side or the other of the appliance. In the example of FIGS. 5-5Cand 6, a cross-flow chamber region 545 is provided near the end of thesecond end 104. The cross-flow nature of the air flows is shown in FIG.6 as the air in from the first heater flow path 525 and the secondheater air flow path 530 is shown as mixing in the cross-flow chamberregion 545 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 7A illustrates an expanded cross section view of the second end104. As shown in FIG. 7A the moisture generation unit 410, wick 415,piezoelectric vibrator 420, liquid reservoir 425 and a chamber for themoisture region 170 is shown similar to as illustrated in FIG. 4A. Aspring 705 applies spring pressure to the wick 415 so as to maintain thewick in proper placement proximate the piezoelectric vibrator 420. Themoisture generation unit 410 may be configured in any of a number ofways to assist in usage of the unit. For example, the entire unit(including reservoir, wick and piezoelectric vibrator) may be configuredto be removable from the hair styling appliance 100. In this manner, theliquid reservoir 425 may easily be refillable by removing the moisturegeneration unit 410 from the hair styling appliance and re-filling withthe appropriate liquid. In one embodiment, a rubber plug/flap may beprovided in the side of the liquid reservoir 425. A user may then openthe reservoir for refilling when the moisture generation unit 410 isremoved from the hair styling appliance. Alternatively, the unit may beconstructed to remove only the reservoir. In yet another embodiment, thewick may be configured to be removable for insertion of a replacementwick. In yet other embodiments, only the reservoir of moisturegeneration unit may be removable for re-filling. In still otherembodiments, none of the components may be removable and the user mayrefill the reservoir directly while the components are in place in thehair styling appliance 100. Thus, the whole moisture generation unit maybe removable, at least a portion may be removable or none of the unitmay be removable. FIG. 7B illustrates the detachment of a removablemoisture generation unit 410 which may be detached from the hair stylingappliance 100 for filling.

FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the second end 104 ofthe hair styling appliance 100. As shown in FIG. 8, first outlet region155, second outlet region 160, and moisture region 170 is provided. Asdiscussed above, air flow through first heated air outlets 535 in thefirst outlet region 155 and second heated air outlets 540 in the secondoutlet region 160 has been heated. As also shown in FIG. 8, moistureregion 170 is provided adjacent first outlet region 155 and secondoutlet region 160. As discussed above, the air flow surrounding themoisture region 170 may be used to help direct a vapor/mist of a wateror hair styling product to a user's hair as a result of negativepressure caused in the moisture region by the adjacent flowing air. Ascan been seen from FIG. 8, the moisture region is separate from theheated air flows so as to provide improved moisture delivery to a user'shair as discussed above. The heated air flow may be provided generallyparallel to and amongst the brush tines 130 of the brush.

The hair styling appliance 100 described above provides a number ofadvantageous features. These features include, but are not limited to ahair appliance in which the axis of air flow through the appliance isgenerally in a parallel first direction through one end of the applianceand the handle and then exits the hair appliance in a directionperpendicular to the first direction. Moreover, the air flow through thehandle is not heated. Thus, special heat resistance and/or heatshielding materials are not required in the handle. In this manner, thehandle may be sized in a manner that ergonomically fits a user's hand.Further, moisture may be provided from the hair appliance. The moisturemay be directed towards a user's hair by a negative pressure thatresults from the heated air flows proximate the moisture region. Themoisture generation unit may be removable or have components that areremovable for re-filling with moisture and/or replacement of components.In one embodiment, the moisture generation unit may be an ultrasonicvibration unit using a piezoelectric vibrator. Further, the features mayinclude separation of the heated air flow path(s) from moisturecontaining region so as to provide improved moisture delivery to theuser's hair. In one embodiment, two heater units are provided for a leftheated air flow path and a right heated air flow path. The handle of thehair appliance may also serve as a conduit for movement of air from airinlets to air outlets with the air through the handle not being heatedso as to minimizing heating effects in the handle region. In this mannera hair styling appliance is provided that, in one unit, may provide hairdrying capability, straightening/brush capability, and moisture deliverycapability.

Further modifications and alternative embodiments of the hair stylingappliances described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the artin view of this description. It will be recognized, therefore, that thedepicted and described hair styling appliances are not limited by theseexample arrangements. Accordingly, this description is to be construedas illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understoodthat the forms of the invention herein shown and described are to betaken merely as embodiments. Various changes may be made in theimplementations and configurations. For example, equivalent elements maybe substituted for those illustrated and described herein and certainfeatures of the invention may be utilized independently of the use ofother features, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art afterhaving the benefit of this description of the concepts disclosed herein.

What is claimed:
 1. A hair styling appliance, comprising: a first endregion; a second end region, the second end region being at an oppositeend of the hair styling appliance opposite of the first end region; afan contained in the first end region; a handle region between the firstend region and the second end region, the handle region sized to allow auser to hold the hair styling appliance between the first end and thesecond end; an air conduit within the handle region, the air conduitforming a handle air flow path between the first end region and thesecond end region so that air from the fan flows through the handle airflow path generally in a first direction; a heater in the second endregion; and an air outlet region, the air outlet region directing airout of the hair styling appliance in an air outlet direction, the airoutlet direction being angled relative to the handle air flow path bygreater than 45 degrees.
 2. The hair styling appliance of claim 1,further comprising a moisture generation unit.
 3. The hair stylingappliance of claim 2, wherein the moisture generation unit has arefillable reservoir.
 4. The hair styling appliance of claim 2, whereinat least a portion of the moisture generation unit is removable from thehair styling appliance.
 5. The hair styling appliance of claim 2, themoisture generation unit having an ultrasonic vibrator which is capableof generating a vapor/mist.
 6. The hair styling appliance of claim 5,wherein at least a portion of the moisture generation unit is removablefrom the hair styling appliance.
 7. The hair styling appliance of claim2, moisture from the moisture generation unit formed in a moistureregion, the moisture region being located in the hair styling applianceso that moisture from the moisture region exits the hair stylingappliance separate from air that flows out the hair styling appliancethrough the air outlet region.
 8. The hair styling appliance of claim 7,the hair styling appliance configured so that air that flows out thehair styling appliance through the air outlet region creates a negativepressure in the moisture region so as to direct moisture in the moistureregion toward a user's hair.
 9. The hair styling appliance of claim 8,wherein the moisture generation unit is configured so that moisture isinjected into the moisture region in a moisture direction that is angledrelative to the air outlet direction by 30 degrees or more.
 10. The hairstyling appliance of claim 9, wherein the moisture generation unit isconfigured so that moisture is injected into the moisture region in amoisture direction that is angled relative to the air outlet directionby 60 degrees or more.
 11. The hair styling appliance of claim 1,wherein the fan is a two stage fan.
 12. A paddle dryer hair stylingappliance, comprising: an air inlet end a having an air inlet; an airoutlet end, air outlet end being a paddle end of the paddle dryer hairappliance; a fan contained in the air inlet end; a handle between theair inlet end and the air outlet end, the handling generally configuredin a first axial direction, the handle providing a grip region for auser to hold the hair styling appliance; a handle air path within thehandle, the handle air path forming an air flow path between the airinlet end and the air outlet end, the handle air path being in the firstaxial direction; one or more air outlets, the one or more air outletsdirecting air out of the hair styling appliance in an air outletdirection, the air outlet direction being angled relative to the firstaxial direction by greater than 45 degrees; and a heater located betweenthe grip region of the handle and the one or more air outlets so thatair flowing in the air flow path is not heated.
 13. The paddle dryerhair styling appliance of claim 12, further comprising a moisturegeneration unit.
 14. The paddle dryer hair styling appliance of claim13, wherein at least a portion of the moisture generation unit isremovable from the hair styling appliance.
 15. The paddle dryer hairstyling appliance of claim 13, the moisture generation unit having anultrasonic vibrator which is capable of generating a vapor/mist.
 16. Thepaddle dryer hair styling appliance of claim 13, moisture from themoisture generation unit formed in a moisture region, the moistureregion being located in the paddle dryer hair styling appliance so thatmoisture from the moisture region exits the hair styling applianceseparate from air that flows out the hair styling appliance through theone or more air outlets.
 17. The paddle dryer hair styling appliance ofclaim 16, the paddle dryer hair styling appliance configured so that airthat flows out the paddle dryer hair styling appliance through the oneor more air outlets creates a negative pressure in the moisture regionso as to direct moisture in the moisture region toward a user's hair.18. The paddle dryer hair styling appliance of claim 16, wherein themoisture generation unit is configured so that moisture is injected intothe moisture region in a moisture direction that is angled relative tothe air outlet direction by 75 degrees or less.
 19. The paddle dryerhair styling appliance of claim 16, wherein the moisture generation unitis configured so that moisture is injected into the moisture region in amoisture direction that is angled relative to the air outlet directionby 60 degrees or less.
 20. The paddle dryer hair styling appliance ofclaim 16, wherein the fan is a two stage fan.
 21. The paddle dryer hairstyling appliance of claim 16, wherein the moisture region is locatedbetween two opposing sets air outlets.
 22. The paddle dryer hair stylingappliance of claim 12, wherein the fan is a two stage fan.